"Moi", a self-described champagne bubble of a girl, and her best pal Julie Bergdorf cruise through the glitzy world of Manhattan's upper crust in search of the perfect husband--along with a side trips to a super-private sale at Van Cleef & Arpels and to find the perfect pair of Chloe jeans--in a humorous look at the lifestyles of the rich and self-indulgent.

Summary

Moi has many reasons for leaving her native England. There's her mother, her father, her sister--and big dreams of making a splash on the New York social scene. Settling in Manhattan, Moi is writing for a fashion magazine and living the perfect party girl life, hitting the trendiest nightclubs and gracing the gossip columns. But despite all the perks, from free manicures and pedicures to Chanel sample sales, something is missing. Moi becomes painfully aware that even a Hermes Birkin handbag can't take the place of true love--or at least an A.T.M. (rich boyfriend) or an M.I.T. (mogul in training). A hilarious, self-mocking glimpse into Manhattan's exclusive fashionista world, BERGDORF BLONDES is a touching love story at heart.

Booklist Review

Our heroine is a self-described champagne bubble about town (the town being New York City, of course), a twentysomething socialite whose life centers on tracking down Chanel sample sales and downing Bellinis with the group of friends she calls the Park Avenue Princesses. When she notices that getting engaged brings a glow to her friends' skin that even an alpha-beta peel can't replicate, she and her best friend embark on a roller-coaster-ride of a search for prospective husbands. Their misadventures, both romantic and cosmetic, are related in a dishy, namedropping-over-cocktails tone. At the story's end, everyone has landed safely on her Manolo Blahniks, true love turns out to be where one least expects to find it, and Vera Wang is booked to design the wedding gowns. Sykes' debut is feather light, but its heart is in the right place. Like the movie Clueless, to which it owes a substantial debt, this is a breathless, sweetly tongue-in-cheek examination of the lifestyles and arcane social mores of the young, rich, and glamorous. Readers, especially fans of Candace Bushnell, will enjoy the ride. --Meredith Parets Copyright 2004 Booklist

Publisher's Weekly Review

They're ravenous. They're ruthless. They live in a strictly hierarchical, alpha-dog, eat-or-be-eaten world. No, it's not a rerun of Wild America; it's the world of dressed-to-the-nines Park Avenue heiresses, aka Bergdorf Blondes, botoxed to within an inch of their barely-into-the-third-decade lives. Our unnamed London-born heroine is New York's favorite "champagne-bubble-about-town" and just as effervescent and exhilarating as a fine bottle of Dom Perignon. Blissfully self-interested and flush with the cheeriness that comes from being, well, flush, Miss Disposable Income 2004 sashays her way through New York society in search of the perfect P.H. (Potential Husband)-"Have you any idea how awesome your skin looks if you are engaged?"-and the perfect butt-shaping pair of Chloe jeans. Despair occasionally strikes when her latest prince turns into yet another toad, but it's nothing an invitation to an uber-exclusive Hermes sale and a gallon or so of Bellinis can't fix. She's got the creme de la creme along with her for the ride, including her best friend, the fabulously wealthy heiress Julie Bergdorf, who is tres supportive of her nervous breakdown-"You'll be able to dine out on how crazy you went in Paris for months"-and a posse of chattering, Harry Winston-bedecked clones with whom to limo around New York. Tacky? Absolutely. But it's impossible not to be massively entertained by a woman who refers euphemistically to oral sex as "going to Rio" in memory of the first man who suggested she get a Brazilian bikini wax, considers vodka a food group and who holds up glamour as the first of the commandments. This is a savvy and viciously funny trip into a glittery, glitzy world we sure wouldn't want to live in-but by which we're more than happy to be vicariously consumed for the length of a book. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal Review

Sykes, a contributing editor at Vogue, got an advance of more than $600,000 for this roman ? fluff about thin, chic, Botoxed, waxed, wealthy, and designer-clad blondes. The two main characters, "Moi," the narrator, and her best friend, Julie Bergdorf (who occasionally gets off on shoplifting from her family's famous department store), are both on the hunt for a P.H. (that's Prospective Husband-"The only sexually transmitted disease I wanna contract is fiance fever," says Julie). Moi scores first, snagging a handsome if mystifying celebrity photographer. However, after he breaks off their engagement, Moi attempts suicide via Aleve and gin, then moves on in short order to other P.H.s, until she ends up with-surprise!-the perfect man. Sykes's intermittently humorous first novel will delight or repel readers depending on their tolerance for innumerable brand names (Chlo? butt-hugging jeans, Manolo Blahnik shoes), thrilling glimpses into a lifestyle few can even aspire to, and vacuous characters who make the Sex and the City gals and good old Bridget Jones seem like rocket scientists. Be aware of the publicists' hype, and be prepared for demand.-Nancy Pearl, Seattle P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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